TURA (WEST GARO HILLS): Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma on Monday said his party, National People’s Party (NPP), is keeping its options open for a post-poll alliance if the need arises to form the government like it was in 2018, which included BJP.
Similar to the strategy five years back, both NPP and BJP are fighting the upcoming polls on February 27 on their own.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of an election rally at New Tura field here on Monday, Conrad said, “If we see that NPP is not getting full majority and there is need for support, we will discuss with other political parties. There are options. As of now, we are going to the people with our ideologies and beliefs, with an appeal to give us full majority,” he said.
Without directly naming any party it would go to for support after the polls if the need arises, Conrad said, “Since my late father’s (former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma) time, we have always been a partner with the NDA. That has not changed.”
Conrad’s statement came days after BJP’s national vice-president and party’s Meghalaya in-charge M Chuba Ao did not rule out the option of forging a post-poll alliance with NPP.
Earlier, addressing the mega rally, Conrad highlighted the development works undertaken by his government in the last five years, “overcoming over 45 years of underdevelopment in the state, especially Garo hills and particularly Tura constituency”.
“You as the voters of Tura endorsed my candidature in the byelection and voted me to victory with a record margin of over 8,500 votes. With your support we were able to do a lot of work in five years for the entire state and Tura as well,” he said.
He said earlier Meghalaya was able to make only 700 km of roads in a span of 15 years, whereas in NPP’s tenure from 2018 to 2022, close to 2,000 km were completed in the state.
Conrad said Meghalaya is now a model for other states in implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) for water supply to homes. “Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, during his visit to Shillong, lauded Meghalay’s achievement in JJM,” Conrad said, adding, “Meghalaya is changing for the better.”
